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Ellen Page says Last of Us 'ripped off' her likeness

Actress Ellen Page says that her likeness was "ripped off" for The Last of Us character Ellie, and that it was "not appreciated."

The Last of Us is one of our favorite games of this year, in part because of the relationship between its lead characters, Joel and Ellie. But Ellie's similarities with actress Ellen Page didn't go unnoticed, and she says it was "not appreciated."

In a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" thread (via IGN) over the weekend, a fan asked how she felt about The Last of Us and if she would have taken the role of Ellie herself. "I guess I should be flattered that they ripped off my likeness," she replied, "but I am actually acting in a video game called Beyond: Two Souls, so it was not appreciated."

Ellie's similarities to Page didn't go unnoticed, and some fans even assumed that the Juno and Inception star would be playing the role. Naughty Dog subsequently announced that Ellie would be played by Ashley Johnson (What Women Want), and remodeled the character to look more like Johnson. Naughty Dog chalked up the resemblance to coincidence. After Page's comment over the weekend, The Last of Us creative director Neil Druckmann tweeted support for Johnson, saying "no one could have done a better job."

In April, Eurogamer asked Quantic Dream's Guillaume de Fondaumiere about the resemblance, since Ellen Page is actually involved in their game. "They probably inadvertently were inspired by Ellen Page, but indeed, they had to slightly change the model such that she wouldn't look like Ellen Page because, indeed, we have Ellen Page," he said.

Steve Watts

Editor-In-Chief

Steve Watts' youthful memories are are a blur of pixels, princesses, castles, and Mega Busters. After writing about games as a pastime for years, he got his first shot at a paid gig at 1UP. He's freelanced for several sites since then, and found a friendly home at Shacknews. His editorial duties include news, reviews, features, and lunatic ravings. He lives in the Baltimore-Washington area with his shockingly understanding wife.